This is why GM John Dorsey didn't want the Browns to be on 'Hard Knocks'

The Browns will make their first appearance on the HBO show this summer

Browns general manager John Dorsey is all business. That was evident from the moment he was hired last December, remained the case throughout the pre-draft process when no one outside the organization knew that Baker Mayfield was the target with the No. 1 pick, and was reiterated earlier this month when Dorsey spoke about the possibility of the Browns being on HBO's 'Hard Knocks' later this summer.

"I don't think there's anything good that comes out of Hard Knocks, but we'll see," he told ESPN Cleveland 850 on May 2.

On Thursday, HBO announced that -- you guessed it -- the Browns would be featured on "Hard Knocks,'' with the first episode airing on August 7.

Which brings us back to Dorsey, who spoke frankly about the situation.

"Like many, I was reluctant about being the featured team on Hard Knocks but once we sat down and talked about it as an organization, I feel a lot better and understand why the time is right," he said in a statement issued by HBO. "Hue [Jackson] and I both feel like this team is in a good place and that we are in the process of building something that will lead to success. Being a part of 'Hard Knocks' will give our fans the opportunity to see how passionate the people in our building are about winning and how excited we are about getting to work and preparing for the 2018 season."

Whether Dorsey actually believes this is another matter but Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland legitimately feels this is the perfect time for the Browns to be on the national stage.

The timing of this is just a good idea. Historical franchise trying to get off the mat with young players that fans want to get behind. There will be intrigue and controversies like seasons past, but NFL will put the Browns in the best light possible.

And 49ers general manager John Lynch agrees with the idea that broadcasting your business to the world isn't necessarily good for business.

"It's not something we would be really excited about," Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area earlier this month about the prospects of the 49ers being on 'Hard Knocks.' "I love the show, but I think some things are best left behind closed doors. I fundamentally have a problem with cutting players and things of that nature [on camera]. It's not something we'd be thrilled about."

The Browns and 49ers were in the conversation for "Hard Knocks" because league rules stipulate that a team is eligible to be selected -- either voluntarily or by mandate -- if it hasn't appeared on the show in the last 10 years, hasn't reached the playoffs the last two seasons, or didn't just hire a new coach.

As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk points out, Dorsey could have avoided "Hard Knocks'' by firing Jackson, he of the 1-31 record. But he didn't, Jackson remains (for now), and the good news -- at least for for the fans, media and the NFL at large -- is that this could be the most compelling season of "Hard Knocks'' in a long time. There's the obvious intrigue about Mayfield, Jackson's tenuous hold on his job, and whether an organization with two winning seasons in nearly two decades can finally turn things around.

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Ryan Wilson has been an NFL writer for CBS Sports since June 2011, and he's covered five Super Bowls in that time. Ryan previously worked at AOL's FanHouse from start to finish, and Football Outsiders...
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